Planning for the worst.

• Position: In focus: a message from the editors - Editorial

At 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, one of several tornadoes that touched down in the Miami area hit an Archive America facility. The facility, which is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, sustained some damage to its roof, related vehicles, and power lines.

Fortunately, no one was injured, disaster recovery teams were deployed quickly, and a company spokesperson reported that 100 percent of the records affected were recoverable.

Would your organization be as lucky? The fact is, it is not a matter of if a disaster or emergency will hit your organization, but of when. Are you prepared?

Last year, Gartner analysts reported that less than 25 percent of Global Fortune 2000 businesses have invested in comprehensive business continuity planning. In a 2002 study, the research group found that only 35 percent of small and midsize businesses have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place and fewer than 10 percent have implemented crisis management, contingency, business recovery and business resumption plans. According to survey results released by Gartner's Executive Programs and the Society for Information Management, "most companies are unprepared for terrorist attacks or natural disasters and would be unable to quickly and smoothly execute basic business continuity measures." If you can count your organization among this group, these statistics should shock and frighten you.

In this issue of The Information Management Journal, we emphasize the critical importance of disaster planning and business continuity plans. As many organizations that have experienced a flood, fire, theft, or even terrorist attack can tell you, having a comprehensive, effective, and well-tested disaster or business continuity plan in place may mean the difference between your business functioning as usual and not functioning at all.

In "Prepared or Not ... That Is the Vital Question, " Barb Rike, CRM, offers guidance on creating a disaster plan for your organization and its records and information. Jean Barr, CRM, recounts in a case study how the law firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood was able...